Upon my return from Ethiopia I was eagerly asked the question  “How was Africa?” but I’ve found that putting my experiences into words is just so darn difficult. So the most justifiable description would be this: It was incredible, completely and utterly incredible.

I always knew there was something missing in my life. Growing up in Southern California I spent most of my time around people with expensive cars, designer clothes, and the need to try to out do one another. Don’t get me wrong, I love all my friends and family regardless and think they are pretty amazing people, I’ve just always felt disconnected from that lifestyle. I did live it, especially in high school, but hated it at the same time. I can remember countless conversations I had with my mom asking her why people felt the need to have so many materialistic things. (To clarify- I am speaking of people being obsessive with buying things and always wanting more, I still have plenty of things myself but now I try not to compare and get caught up with that lifestyle.) I chose to go to college in Utah because I felt like I had slowly conformed into the people that surrounded me and I wanted a fresh start to find myself again. I struggled a lot through this. The whole figuring out who you are stage definitely isn’t my cup of tea. I saw all my friends go off to college having the time of their lives and wished I could have the same experience. I started getting sad, really sad. After about a month away from home I found myself having to talk myself into reasons why I should be alive each morning, and at this lowest darkest point in my life I could only come up with one reason…my trip to Africa was coming up.

I remember the first moment I felt God’s love on my trip. It was our first day in Addis and my team brought bags of shoes and clothes to the Hope for The Hopeless drop in center (A place where they take in kids who were living on the streets). After I had cleaned one of the young boys dirty feet I fit him to a pair of nice new sneakers. When his face lit up because they fit perfectly I stuck my hand out to give him a high five, but instead he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me so tightly. This moment was the first of many times in which I felt what it was like to receive the joy of true, pure love.

This story is one of my favorites: As my team spent most of our time focusing on the kids up on Entoto Mountain this man said “Why you neglect me? Why you neglect me? All I need is a pen!” So one of my team members pulled out a pen to give to him and my goodness was he a happy camper! He held that pen up high in the air praising Jesus and practically dancing around. REALITY CHECK #1…it was a pen for crying out loud…. we all probably have more than enough pens in every drawer at home and this man thought it was the greatest thing in the whole world. Talk about enjoying the simple things in life! I think we could all learn a little from his appreciation and gratitude.

My team stopped when going down Entoto Mountain to give the women rides who were carrying these bundles on their backs. To give you an idea of how heavy these bundles were, it took every single one of our men to lift them (and they still struggled)! They only get paid $2 a day for this hard labor on a huge mountain of many many miles. Some of them were even pregnant! We gave them money as well and asked them to take as many days off as they could. I can’t believe the things the women suffer through so they can provide for their families.

I struggled in Africa because there was so much poverty and people in need that I wanted to help everyone. Throughout my trip though I realized changing the world over night just wasn’t going to happen, instead I started to see the importance of focusing on single individuals at a time rather than an entire community. By doing this I was able to make extraordinary connections and relationships with people. I’ll share a few of my favorites:

Meet Redita, this girl is outstanding. She was one of the first kids I met at Hope for the Hopeless.. She absolutely LOVES school and has a passion for teaching. I know for a fact she will be a teacher one day because she is such an intelligent, independent young woman. Hearing Redita talk about how much she loves school really made me reevaluate my thoughts on education. I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed school, but she made me realize how much I take it for granted. There are kids out there that want to go to school and cant and I’ve spent almost every day complaining and dreading going to class???? Are you kidding me! REALITY CHECK #2…We should be thankful we are fortunate enough to even go to school. As I’ve started my new semester I’ve decided to read the textbooks in my free time, take notes on things because I want to and put my phone down during class and actually listen to my teachers, and guess what….I LOVE school now! Shocking even for me, but it’s true. Because of Redita I realized the importance of learning in school rather than just doing the minimal to pass a class, and it is so much more enjoyable!

Meet Eshutu. I didn’t notice him until the second time we visited the center he was at because he is super shy and speaks no English. I caught him looking at me and noticed he was holding a football so we started to throw the ball around and ended up laughing our butts off. To my surprise Eshutu was EXTREMELY athletic, like if my dad got his hands on him we’d have a future NFL player kind of athletic. Not only is he talented, but Eshutu has a heart of pure gold. Even though he didn’t say much I started to notice that everywhere I went he was always right there by my side. My heart melted every time he’d scoot a little closer to me on the bench or flash his pearly white smile. Eshutu made me see how much some people just need you to wrap your arms around them and give them love. It’s such an easy thing to do but sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget to stop and let our loved ones know how much they mean to us.

You know those people that you just know God put in your life for a reason? Well meet Meron, she is definitely one of them, without a doubt. She holds such a special place in my heart, I literally aspire to be more like her. Meron’s story is heartbreaking and I don’t think she would mind me sharing; she was beat and raped by several different men before living at Hope for the Hopeless. After enduring such a horrific thing she went on with her life and is probably the happiest person I have EVER met. REALITY CHECK #3, if this girl goes on with her life after something like that than I have absolutely no excuse to not get out of bed every morning. She taught me that I need to stop trying to fast forward to the next chapter of my life and enjoy my journey now, that I need to live day by day and trust that God has a plan for me as he does for everyone else. I can’t even begin to explain the peace I have received from knowing this. I also learned to make the most out of every situation from her example. Even through the hard times there is always something to be thankful for and a brighter day to come. I realized that maybe my attitude was the problem and not my life. Happiness is a choice. I choose to be happy now, do you? If not start off each day by listing all the things you are thankful for, your mood will change without you even realizing it. What Meron has taught me is something I will be forever grateful for; there is not a minute that goes by where she isn’t on my mind. Meron not only defines the word incredible but she is absolutely gorgeous, I mean look at that beautiful smile!

In case it isn’t obvious, Going to Africa taught me numerous life changing lessons. I’ll name a few other big ones:
1.     Being able to open up to people and “go deep” is a fantastic quality to have. This is something I have always struggled with which has left me feeling like even the closest people in my life don’t truly know me. My thoughts and desires are almost always left unsaid which I’ve realized makes it extremely hard for people to understand my love and intentions. So my advice to anyone and everyone is to open up. It will build extraordinary relationships and fill any spots of loneliness in your heart.
2.     Every single life matters. It doesn’t matter your race, wealth, religion, EVERY person on this earth is important.  
3.     God is always there for you. If you turn to him during the hard times and thank him during the good he will give you peace, happiness, comfort and guide you in the right direction.

Ethiopia was the light at the end of my tunnel. It is far from a glamorous lifestyle there but the love those people have is indescribable. They filled my heart with happiness and gratitude. Most of the Ethiopians I met get their food by digging out of the trash dump and make their money by begging on the streets…could you imagine living that way? I sure can’t. Seeing the way these people live compared to the way we do made me feel guilty and selfish. I’m not saying we should throw out our stuff and live on the streets, but I am saying that we can do so much more to help better someone else’s lives whether it be our neighbor or someone on the other side of the world. There is a quote I found by Audrey Hepburn that I fell in love with, “As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, and one for helping others”, I have found this to be so true. If we have so much why don’t we take more time to help those that don’t? My hope is to give freely and become the most selfless person I can possibly be, and I hope you all will join me in doing the same. Although these Ethiopians are poor materialistically speaking, they are so rich in their love and faith, and such hardworking people. I cannot thank God enough for changing my heart on this trip and I want to dedicate the rest of my life to serving him.

"God told us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but so many of our neighbors are starving to death while our tables are filled with abundance." 

If you made it through this whole post then you’re awesome and I love you. If you have any questions about my trip don’t hesitate to message me. The website for the non-profit organization I went to Africa with is http://www.ordinaryhero.org/Ordinary_Hero/Home/Home.html

Please consider sponsoring a child or family… a small amount of money each month that we would normally drop on a single night at dinner or a movie can absolutely change their lives! Talk to me and I can help set you up with a program and a child/family who needs it the most.

"Why with all the wealth, technology, and resources that exist in this western world, have we not solved these problems? It is possible for children to live and yet they are dying by the thousands while we sit here full and content, everything we ever need right within our reach."

Here is the link to my facebook if you would like to see the rest of the pictures from my trip:
https://www.facebook.com/ashley.geringer.5/media_set?set=a.10201317267519046.1073741831.1393662129&type=1